Ally Power-Up Is a Victory Flag

Narikin is just a dungeon monster. The Saintess, on the other hand, is a quasi-Hero-class powerhouse.

"Defense won't be a problem if we borrow Rokuko's [Divine Blanket], but our offensive power is…"

"Shall we use Rokufa?"

"A duel is one-on-one, right? They'll probably accuse us of breaking the spirit of it."

That basilisk takedown the other day was hardly a display of real ability… I wanted basilisk materials, so I used a Boss Spawner to mass-produce them. As a way to get rid of the extras, I slipped one into the stream. That's the behind-the-scenes story.

Naturally, you could say the basilisk side was holding back. I knew its weaknesses inside and out.

… If I truly had no scruples, I could swap in for Narikin and take the duel myself, either with [Super Transformation] or [Possession].

If it were me, I could defend with the [Divine Blanket] and finish it as an invincible fixed turret with [Elemental Burst]. I would take no damage and attack one-sidedly; given time, I'd win.

… However, the Saintess, our opponent in this duel, would very likely see through Narikin being a different person. Very likely.

It's the same with the folks from the Demonlands: once someone reaches a certain level, they say things like "speak with your fists" or "the sword is more eloquent than words" and see through you by some channel I don't get at all.

If she saw through him being a different person, we'd be accused of foul play… In that case, we should proceed with Narikin fighting, keeping [Possession] as a true last resort.

"If only I could use Master's [Elemental Burst] myself."

"Apparently it's impossible to even pronounce, Nerune even threw in the towel."

In this world, you can learn magic either from a scroll or by perfectly copying it by ear and chanting it.

But [Elemental Burst], which mixes all attributes into a ridiculous mess, has a chant that's so nonsensical it seems impossible to reproduce.

The only ones who could probably learn it are summoned Heroes like Wataru who, like me, have a translation function.

"What about learning some other strong skill via scroll?"

"… Like [Judgment Ray]? But scrolls above the Advanced tier are so expensive that I still can't bring myself to buy one."

Scrolls in that class easily cost 10,000,000 DP.

Our income's skyrocketed thanks to the Karisoto Ward, but it's still out of reach even with that.

"Alright, let's just strengthen Narikin."

"Hm? Strengthen me… in an ordinary way?"

"Boost your performance as armor. If we coat your body — your armor — with orichalcum, your basic specs will skyrocket… probably!"

"!! O-Orichalcum!? A-Are you sure!? I-It is the aspiration of all armors!"

"The aspiration of all armors," huh. That's a phrase I've never heard before.

Still, a Living Armor made of orichalcum would be final-boss-class in a dungeon. In that case, it should be able to go toe-to-toe with the Saintess… probably.

"As expected, a Living Armor should rely on its own defense!"

"Should we make the helmet separately?"

"No! Please use me for the helmet too, I can humanize just the face!!"

His voice was positively brimming with life. I guess he didn't like having his defense covered by the [Divine Blanket]. I suppose it does interfere with an armor's identity.

"We'll work in parts, then. Put your parts into [Storage] one by one."

"I'll start with my right arm then… it's in!"

"Okay, confirmed. Time to start coating."

And so I received Narikin's parts via [Storage] and spent the entire night applying an orichalcum coating to his whole body.

… When it came time for the final helmet piece, he showed up in his flesh-and-blood form, which gave me a bit of a jump.

"Finding a severed head in [Storage] is alarming, you know. There's a limit to Living Armor jokes, oi."

"Hah-hah-hah! I wanted to try it at least once! Now, finally, my helmet, please!"

Narikin was high on that good good orichalcum coating.

 

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Anyway, with that, Narikin is strengthened.

We're currently using the filming dungeon to check his performance.

As for how much his performance actually improved, first, his defense is now orichalcum-class.

That's only natural, since we wrapped the armor in orichalcum as-is. His magic resistance is also top-tier; he shrugs off my spells without issue.

He even deflects [Elemental Shot]. Truly, that's orichalcum for you.

And his mobility has skyrocketed.

Before, even jumping, he could barely reach his own height, but now he can hop onto a house roof with ease. With a three-story building, he can jump high enough to grab the roof.

His offensive power is enough to punch apart rocks. It's like a superhero.

"Ku-ku-ku. I am no longer Narikin… I am Narikin 2.0!!"

"Ohh, impressive."

"My body feels like an entirely different thing! And I have power, too! I'm amazing!"

Coating a movement-assist golem in orichalcum raises its performance, so I figured a Living Armor's would rise as well… but the increase exceeded my expectations.

The stealthy weight reduction by weaving him into a honeycomb structure probably helped too.

"I can win! Like this, I can beat the Saintess!!"

"With your base defense, you won't lose, and your offensive power is sufficient. It's true that even I couldn't beat you head-on as you are now — but the Saintess has technique."

"…!! Technique…?"

Martial arts are a system by which the weak can defeat the strong. What's more, the Saintess is strong and has honed her martial skill in real, dungeon combat.

"However, with this power, I'm sure I can overpower the Saintess's technique!"

"Oh? In that case — first, try beating the strongest little girl in our village."

And so, I called Niku to be his combat instructor. Her tail swished back and forth.

"Niku, Narikin is sturdy, so you can go all out. Can you handle it?"

"As you wish. I was just wanting a moving practice partner."

Niku bowed with a small nod. She faced off against Narikin.

"… Fufufufu, I'll make you cry, Niku-senpai!"

"Oh my, Narikin. You won't use a weapon?"

"Unnecessary! My own body is the strongest weapon!! Uoooo!"

"I see. Then."

"Oooo—hbogh!? M-My foot slipped… w-where did you…"

"I merely swept your leg and stepped behind you. It seems I won't need a weapon either… Goshujin-sama told me I could go all out, but… good grief."

"Wha!? M-My body won't move!? Why!?"

And thus Narikin was utterly defeated by Niku.

After all, Niku used a movement-assist golem coated in orichalcum. And her history of using it is on a different level from Narikin, who was only coated yesterday.

If their output is roughly the same, the one with superior technique has the advantage. It was only natural. In other words, there was no factor by which Narikin could win.

"If it's only hardness, there are a myriad of ways around it, you know?… Hm, you tried to disassemble your body just now. No. Are you planning to use that in your duel with Alka?"

"… Nnngh!? How did you know!? What's going on!? Narikin 2.0 can't even lift a finger here!?"

At this rate… it seems we'll need one more twist to beat the Saintess.

For the time being, we have the pretext of searching for the terrorist the Saintess asked about, so our absence won't be suspicious, and Narikin can train for a while.

I'll have to give Niku a special bonus. Thanks in advance.